Cong accuses MP govt of Rs 500cr wheat purchase scam

BHOPAL: Congress on Sunday released a "black paper" alleging a scam to the tune of Rs 500 crore in the procurement of wheat by the Madhya Pradesh government. Opposition leader in the MP Assembly Ajay Singh demanded a judicial probe into the procurement, storage and transportation of 50 lakh tonne of wheat by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government.
"The government claims that it procured 50 lakh tonne of wheat from farmers.But there is no proper documentation for the purchase of 22 lakh tonne. We demand that an independent committee be formed headed by a retired judge for a probe into the procurement of wheat," Singh said.
MP ranked third this year in wheat procurement at minimum support price after Punjab and Haryana.
In the past two years MP is the only state where a bonus of Rs 150 is being provided to farmers. Wheat has been procured this year at the rate of Rs 1,270 per quintal (minimum support price Rs 1,120 plus Rs 150 bonus).
Congress alleged that wheat was not directly purchased from farmers and the loophole was a network of traders with political connection. "We have reports that those farmers were paid around Rs 1,000 per quintal, while Rs 225 to Rs 250 went into the pockets of some influential people." Singh accused.